Hills a/d cat food

Question
Hi Emilee

My six year old ferret Blossom recently had an incident whereby she ingested something in the garden/house (we still don't know what) which left her with a very nasty infection down through her digestive system.  I nearly lost her, but luckily she has made a full recovery and is happy as a lark again.  However...when she couldn't eat her usual solid nuggets as her throat was so swollen, I warmed/diluted Hills a/d cat food to feed to her which she could lap from a spoon. Problem is, she is hooked on the cat food now!  I know ferrets are prone to fixate on one type of food so I've been trying to wean her back off the cat food on to her nuggets as my vet says she just likes the taste of the cat food and is perfectly capable of eating her nuggets again.  I'm keeping a close eye on her intake of nuggets and I don't feel she is eating enough of them, so I continue to give her one table spoonful of the heated cat food a day.  Just so I'm sure she is getting something every day.  She also gets a small amount of cooked chicken breast meat every 2nd/3rd day as do all my ferrets. James Wellbeloved ferret nuggets and Chudleys ferret nuggets is their main diet and always in their cages.  I know how important a good diet is for ferrets, so can you tell me if I must withdraw the cat food altogether now, even if she does seem hungry and is asking for it?  I have a feeling she will eat more of her nuggets if I do which is probably for the best....but is it harmful to continue with such a small amount of cat food long term?

Thanks Emilee

Misha

Answer
Hello Misha,

I would say that you might want to mix the two together for a while! Just try and dribble the A/D on the food so that will transfer all the good smells from the A/D to the hard food and hopefully that will help! That will make the hard food smell more like food to her! Gradually take out the A/D, while making sure that she's eating the hard food and she should transition.

I hope this helps! I'm so sorry I couldn't get back to you sooner. In light of the holiday, I've been spending much of my time with family and away from my computer! If you have any more questions, please feel free to ask!

Sincerely,
Emilee Andrews